Store counter



May 4 1926.

C. M. DREHER STORE COUNTER Filed April 5, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l m m M r @w a ain;

May 4 1926.

1,583,676 C. M. DREHER STORE COUNTER Filed April 5, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lwucnl'w CarIMDreher insane UNITED sures PATENT 're ce.

cam. Deanna or MBA names IOWA.-

Applioation filed April 8 ,1923.

s'ronn ootrnraa.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, CARL citizen of the United States,

in the county of Floyd and have invented certain new Nora Springs, State of Iowa,

M. DREHER, a residmg at and useful lmproven'ients in Store Counters,

of which the following is a My said invention relate stores and it is an object vide a device of this serve as a means for displa specification.

s'to a counter for of the same to procharacter which shall vin merchandise u a in bulk, the counter being so arranged as to facilitate the packaging of the merchandise and serving also packages of retail size.

for storage of the A further object of the invention is to provide a construction of dicated which shall be of the knockdown or V the character incollapsible type whereby it may he packed in small compass Still another obj-ectis to of .the character indicated high degree dust-proof to a for shipping. 1

provide a device which shall be thereby obviating one of the objections to numerous varieties of counters now in use.

Another object 18 to provide support ng means for the transparen t front and side members of the various compartments which means shall permit quick replacement of broken or defective parts.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which are made .a parthereof and on which similar reference characters indicate similar p arts,

Figure 1 is .a perspectivecf my improved device viewed from the front,

Figure 2 a rear perspectlveof the same,

Figure 3 a vertical section,

Figure 4 a fragment showing-the connection between certain longit verse inembers,

udinal and trans- Figure 5 a section through a joint shown in Figure 4, a

F gurefi a detail Figure 7 a detail of a ,rear Fig. 8 1s a perspective View knocked down.

of a glass panel, and I door. of the device In the drawings reference character 10 indicates the bottom of preferably covered with iron or other analogous m the device which 1S galvanized sheet;

aterial .11 to prevent waste, to keep out moisture and vermin and for other purposes. parted :at .a distance from The-bottom is supthe floor h ifrent I its ends to side pieces 22 and I extending from front to rear hook 28 engaging ,.longitucli'n all partitisni i s .Serial No. 629,712,

depending projection 19 extending down to the floor of the counter and secured to part 12 by screws. The tenons 18 at the top of the posts extend to the top of the beam 17, the beam 17 being supported on the shoulder adjacent to the te'non. It will be observed that the front side of each post is flush with" the front face of the member 12 while the beam17 overhangs the same and that the slits between the beams 17 and 17 p vid r ady cess 0 t w ee e at liecent sides of successive posts and at the upper edge of part 12 the purpose of said grooves being to receive a sheet 20 of glass or other transparent material edged with paraffined tape 20.

A ou mi w y f the c unter i al ng? tudinal vertical partition 21 extending from .end to end of the counter and connected at 2.8 mated to At its upperend the end pieces 1%1 and 15 at intervals to this partition is cut away provide spaces for receiving cross-beams of the counter on- Shoulders and resting at the front end of the postSl6 Which extend inwardly from the same extent that the 6 .31. 17, overhangs them. Screws 25exte1 d through members 16, v1'7, 17 and 18 tohold the parts together. For holdingthe joists 2a in place I have provided ,a series of metallicclips .26 each of which is forked at its rear end .to n atch a slit in one of the crossbeams and has a hole to receive a screw 27 .extending'into the corner piece 17. At its forward ,end the clip is bent to form a between corner piece 1 and a, post16 and brads 29 are driven through the bifurcated partsof the clip into the joint 24:. a

Thepartitio'n 21 is supported at its rear end by lower transverse partitions 30.

corner. beam 17" to These partitions are supplied with grooves .j-md ca-ted by dotted lines at v31, 31 and the provided with v and sides, thus providing grooves indicated at 32 matching with the gro-oves33 in the posts 16 and with slits 84 (Figure 1) out in the joist 24. Sheets 34 of glass or other transparent material are inserted through the slits and are held in place by them and by the vertical and horizon-t-al grooves to form transparent upward continuations of the partitions 30, thus providing compartments extending from the top to the bottom of the counter and from front to rear of the counter at the bottom, which partitions are transparent at the front for clearly displaying the bulk merchandise placed in such r, compartments, such as powdered, granulated or whole grain products.

At the rear of the longitudinal partition 21 is a horizontal shelf 35 forming an upper closure for the compartmentsbetween the partitions 30 and serving to brace the vertical partition 21.

At the rear of the counter are equally spaced posts 36 cut away to form shoulders the rear member 13 and extenddown to the floor as shown in These posts are connected by screws 38 respectively to the rear member 13 and to a rear corner beam 39 which differs from the corresponding front corner structure in that it is formed in a single piece resting on ing at 37 Figure 3.

' having openings to receive the upper extensions 40 on posts 36. The posts are set so that the corner beam 39 will overhang them and shoulders are thus formed on which the crossbeams 24 rest at their rear ends. Grooves are provided at 41 in adjacent faces of successive posts and leaves 42 of resilient sheet metal are mounted in said grooves. These leaves form vertically slidable rear closures for the compartments containing bulk merchandise and the horizontal shelf is undercut as shown in Figure 3 to provide a space for the reception of the forwardly bent upper 'endsof these closures, whereby access of dust and other foreign material into the con'ipartn'ients is prevented, the upper edge of member 13 being beveled as shown at 42 for a similar purposc.

Each closure has a handle at 48 formed by bending a projecting part of the sheet metal. downward and backward. It will be evident that by pulling back on the handle the upper part of the leaf may be bent so as to pass by the lip on shelf and thereafter the closure 42 may be raised so as to be out of the way while the merchandise is removed from the bulk compartment at the rear side. This provides a convenient arrangement for the packaging of merchandise which may be put up, for example in packages as desired by customers, said packages being then set on top of the counter for tying etc. and when finished stored in the space above the shelf 35 from which thev an be readily handed out to customers.

By the use of this counter the packaged goods are out of sight and out of the way. Such an arrangement is not only sightly and convenient but a very sanitary storage is thus provided for merchandise since the compartments will. hold a large amount of merchandise in bulk in a location where it will be kept clean and free from the attacks of rodents, insects, etc. The storage space for small packages also can readily be kept clean and there is little dan er of breakage of such packages while stored on the shelf 35. The entire space above the shelf is preferably left as a single compartment, but partitions can readily be inserted if desired and such change is considered to bewithin the scope of my invention.

An upper closure is provided for the en tire counter comprising a fixed section 44 and a pair of movable doors 45 and 46 which may be hinged to the fixed section as indi cated at 98 (Fig. 3). The lineof division between the fixed and movable parts is so located that the joint falls at the rear of the partition 21 so that any-dust which. may enter the space behind the doors will not have access to the bulk storage compartments but will fall into the space above the shelf 35 where it can be readily removed and will not get into the merchandise itself. Should it be desired to still further protect the merchandise in bulk against the access of dust it will be a simple matter to provide a strip of packing on the underside of the doors 45 and 46. The crossbeams 24 at the ends of the counter are stepped out to overhang the side pieces 22 and 23 to form a finish for the counter and corner braces 47 are secured to these cro-ssbeams and to the respective corner pieces 17 and 39 for'further reinforcement.

It is desired to call special attention to the knockdown or collapsible arrangement of the device. By removing the various screws holding the parts together the posts 16 and 36 may be taken down, the corner beams and cross-beams separated, the doors 42 stacked up separately and all the smaller parts may be located in the compartment formed by parts 12, 13, 14 and 15 and the bottom carried thereby. The glass being merely loosely supported in the slots is first slipped out and may" be packed with the other parts or shipped separately as is found preferable. This provision for easy removability of the glass is also important in replacing broken or defective glass since it requires a mini mum of time and care or experience to merely slide a sheet of glass out of its grooves and replace it with another. After the smaller parts have been packed in the bottomthe top pieces 44, 45, and 46 may be placed in position over the same and fastened down in any convenient manner to form a cover for the chest or box thus procompartment, a

vided when the whole may be shipped safely and at a minimum freight charge. Then the itis a simp ematterto set up the counter and requires no tools save a screw-driver.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications of my device may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention, therefore I do not limit myself to the precise for-in shown in thedrawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A store counter comprising outer walls and partitions forming a plurality of com partments for merchandise in bulk each compartment extending from top to bottom and from front to rear of the counter, a package vertical partition extending lengthwise of the counter separating the first-named compartments from the package compartment, a lid for the bulk storage compartments, the said lid being hinged over said package compartment to exclude dirt from the bulk storage compartment, substantially as set forth. 7

2. In a knockdown store counter having a series of display compartments along the front of the counter for merchandise in bulk, spaced posts along the front and rear of the counter, beams running lengthwise of the counter adjacent to said posts, tenons on the posts extending upward through the beams, crossbeams extending between said beams and resting at their ends on oppositely located posts, clips secured to the crossbeams each clip having a hookengaging between the side of a tenon and the outer section of the adjacent longitudinal beam, and a swinging door in the top of the counter above the parts held together by said clips, substantially as set forth.

3. In a knockdown store counter having a series of display compartments along the front of the counter for merchandise in bulk,

spaced posts along the front of the counter, beams running lengthwise of the counter supported by said posts the front beam having one or more vertical slits, means below said slits fpr receiving sheets of glass inserted through the slits and holding them in place, tenons on the posts extending upward through the beams, crossbeams extending between said beams and resting on oppositely located posts, clips secured to the crossbeams said clip having hooks engaging between the end of the tenon and the outer section of the front beam, and a swinging door in the top of the counter above the )arts held together by said clips, substantially as set forth.

4. In a store counter, a storage compartment for merchandise in bulk, a vertically slidable door therefor, and a ledge norarts arrive at their destination wdust, substantially as set forth,

v t lmove toward and mally overhanging and contacting with the upper end of said door to prevent access of 5. In a store counter, astora-ge compartment Rio]: merohandise in :bulk, a vertically slidable door therefor having its upper end normally inclined toward the compartment, meansconstraining the body of the door :to move in'a straight line, and a ledge normall-y overhanging the upper end of said door to prevent access of dust, substantially as set. forth.

6. In a store counter, a. storage compartment for merchandise in bulk, a vertically slidable door therefor having a resilient upper endnormally inclined toward the compartment, means constraining the body of the door to move in a straight line, and a ledge normally overhang ng the upper end of said door to prevent access of dust, substantially as set forth.

7. In a store counter, a storage compartment for merchandise in bulk, a vertically slidable door therefor having a resilient upper end normally inclined toward the compartment, means constraining the body of the door to move in a straight line, a ledge normally overhanging the upper end of said door to preventaccess of. dust, and a support to receive the lower end of the door the outer part of said support sloping away from the door to carry off dust, substantially as set forth. I

S. In a display counter having a compartment extending from front to rear, a vertically slidable resilient door at the other end of the compartment forwardly inclined at the upper end, guides for the sides of the door, a ledge under which the upper edge of the door engages when in closed position, the upper corners of the door being cut away to permit the forwardly bent upper portion from said ledge, and a handle on said upperv port-ion, substantially as set forth.

9. In a counter, a door comprising a sheet of material having'a resilient forwardly bent upper end, end of the. door bent down flat against the same, and an integral handle extending rearwardly from said recurred part, substantially as set forth,

10. In a knockdown display cabinet, a permanent bottom part having a floor with walls at its sides and ends, 'demountable transverse partitions therein, front and rear series of demountable posts, demountable a recurved flange at the upper corner beams and crossbeams supported on I said posts, demountable horizontal and vertical partitions forming a storage compartment, demountable end pieces closing said compartment atthe ends, and a demount able top with pivoted doors, all of said parts being detachably connected by screws and the top being constructed and arranged to be inverted over the bottom part to provide a closure therefor after the remaining pieces have been arranged therein for shipment, substantially as set forth.

11. In a store counter, Walls and partitions forming a series of display compartments along the front or" the counter for merchandise in bulk, spaced posts along the front of the counter, a longitudinal partition behind said posts, guiding means on the posts and the partition, removable transparent panels held in place by said guiding means, a beam connecting the upper ends of the posts, and crossbeams extending rear- Wardly therefrom said first-named beam and said orossbeams having Vertical slits in line With the guiding means substantially as set forth. v

g In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Washington, District of Columbia, this third day of April, A. D. nineteen hundred and twenty-three.

CARL M. DREHER, as 

